4 Day Work Week

[via SvN] Emphasis mine:

The point of the 4-day work week is about doing less work. It’s not about 4 10-hour days for the magical 40-hour work week. It’s about 4 normalish 8-hour days for the new and improved 32-hour work week. The numbers are just used to illustrate a point. Results, not hours, are what matter, but working longer hours doesn’t translate to better results. The law of diminishing returns kicks in quick when you’re overworked.

People in so many work environments are far too concerned with getting their 40 hours in each week (whether it be pressure from their employer or themselves). Just like they said, it's the results, not hours, that matter. I agree 100% with the statement above. Now, that's not to say that you can do that all the time. There are occasions where more time is required. The flip side is equally true. There are times when less time is required.

You shouldn't be punished for being able to work efficiently and getting you tasks done in less than 40 hours a week. In this day and age we are all far too eager to tell people how busy we are. I hear, "I'm so busy" or "I have so much to do and no time!" all the time. That shouldn't be our goal. We shouldn't brag about how we put in 50-60 hours each week. It's not healthy and it doesn't promote a good work environment.

When I look at someone who works 60 hours a week, staying late each night, I don't think, "Wow, that's a good employee that I want to be like." I feel sorry for that person because they don't get to go home and spend time with their family or do other things they enjoy. Part of the problem is that many companies would consider this the model employee. It's not. Employees like this get burned out and produce lower quality work in the long run.